And they named the city Dan: The Danites rename the town of Laish after their ancestor Dan. This clause, introduced by the Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And, begins to draw this episode to a close. This conjunction might also be translated “Then” or “So,” or it may be omitted (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version uses the connector “But,” which does not seem appropriate here. They named the city Dan is literally “they called the name of the city Dan.” We might say “they changed the name of the town to Dan,” “they gave the new name Dan to the town,” or “they renamed the town Dan.” The word name occurs three times in this verse, and it is likely that this repetition mocks the people of Dan, who act courageous and seek “a name,” but who here show themselves to be cowardly and despicable.

After the name of Dan their ancestor: The Danites renamed the town to honor their ancestor Dan. In most languages this second repetition of the word name may sound unnatural. Some languages may say “after their ancestor Dan” (Good News Translation) or “to honor Dan, their ancestor.” Dan was one of Jacob’s twelve sons (Gen 30.5-6), so he was an ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel. Ancestor is literally “father,” and many languages will use this same term. Others may say “grandfather” or “forefather” (see verse 2.1).

Who was born to Israel: This clause describes Dan as one of the sons of Israel. In Gen 32.28 Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, which means “he wrestles/struggles with God.” Depending on the audience, translators may want to render this clause as “who was born to Jacob, also known as Israel” or “who was born to Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.” However, Israelite history is not in focus here, but rather the dishonor or shame that has come to the tribe of Dan for their bad behavior. By referring to their ancestor Israel, the narrator is underlining the Danites’ shame.

But the name of the city was Laish at the first: The narrator emphasizes the former name of the town, which was Laish (see verse 18.7). The Hebrew expression for but (weʾulam) might be translated “but before” or “however” (New Jerusalem Bible). The Hebrew word rendered first often designates the first in a series, for example, the first month, but in this context it shows something that is prior, that is, a former name. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “Originally, however, the name of the town was Laish.” We may also say “but the town’s first/original name was Laish.” Some languages may prefer to place this information earlier in the verse (see second model below).

Translation models for this verse are:

• So the Danites gave a new name to the town, changing its name from Laish to Dan, after Dan, the ancestor of their tribe. He was one of Jacob’s (Israel’s) sons. However, Laish was the town’s former name.

• Having settled in this place, they changed the name of the town from Laish, its first name, to Dan, in honor of this son of Israel, the ancestor of their tribe.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .